Goldman Not Above Subprime

And not above paying for it. You can be fairly certain, if Goldman has decided to settle that it is only the first stage of the big subprime wind-up. Securitization is that much closer to being illegal. Hurray.

The Goldman Sachs Group agreed to pay up to $60 million to settle Massachusetts' complaints about the investment bank's role in the subprime mortgage business, state officials said Monday. The agreement includes up to $50 million for holders of the mortgages -- which were made at often high rates to people with poor credit -- and a $10 million payment to the state, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Martha Coakley said. The settlement follows an investigation into how Wall Street banks originated mortgages and then packaged them into bonds. It is the first such accord with a bank to focus on securitization of subprime mortgages, spokeswoman Amie Breton said.